Heat make it a late night, catch Super Bowl in Toronto

February 4, 2013|By Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel

MIAMI — A back-to-back is one thing. As soon as the NBA schedule came out in July, the Miami Heat knew they would go from a Sunday road game against the Toronto Raptors to Monday night's home game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

What they didn't know is that coach Erik Spoelstra would fit in another game in between.

Rather than returning to South Florida around 9 p.m. Sunday after their afternoon 100-85 victory at the Air Canada Centre, the Heat were given time off for good behavior by Spoelstra, allowed to watch the Super Bowl in a private room at Real Sports Bar and Grill in Toronto. The facility, which features 39-foot high-definition big screen, is owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who operate the Raptors.

"There was a groundswell of enthusiasm to watch the game," Spoelstra said before Monday's game. "And that was not only the players, but also the staff. We all wanted to see it. And it felt so awkward that we'd be up in the air missing it. So the more we talked about it, we started to look for some salutations to try to make it happen."

Forward Shane Battier said it turned into a special Sunday, and for more than the victory over the Raptors.

"I'd like to think it was a team-bonding activity that will propel us to bigger heights," he said with a smile, before adding, "It was one of the best team days I've had in the NBA.

"It was one of the best days I've had as a pro, socially with my teammates."

The Heat watched the game in a private room before heading to the airport, clearing customs and arriving back in South Florida after 3 a.m., about the same time they would have landed if the game against the Raptors was a night game.

"We looked at it from a lot of different angles," Spoelstra said. "Obviously our competitive outlook on every single game is the most important thing. But we play so many back-to-backs, that would be really similar. When we got home was a normal time of a back to back. So we decided the benefits outweighed any perceived negative. And it ended up being a great team-building, bonding experience for our guys. So it was a lot of fun."

And despite the Heat putting a picture on Instagram of Spoelstra studying video during the party, he insisted he, too, had fun.

"I'm not a total geek," he said with a laugh. "We were there an hour before the game started, so I watched film during that hour and I watched off and on in the commercials of the first quarter. After the first quarter, I put that computer in my bag and I enjoyed the rest of the time with the staff and the players."

As it turns out, with the 34-minute power-outage delay in New Orleans, the Heat would have been able to catch the dramatic fourth quarter of the Baltimore Ravens' victory over the San Francisco 49ers had they left immediately after the victory in Toronto, which ended a four-game, eight-day trip.

"No, we thought we'd give it a little bit of time," Spoelstra said of waiting out the delay. "I'm glad we did, because that was an incredible, spectacular finish."

Had the delay been any longer, it could have created an issue for the team, which had to depart Toronto by airport rule by midnight, its flight departing at 11:58 p.m. Sunday.

"There were some grumblings because the Ravens guys we like, 'Man, this game's over,' " Battier said. "The 49ers faithful believed the comeback was imminent, so we wouldn't allow them to leave."

Battier said the San Francisco faithful included himself and forward Mike Miller.

In the days leading to the Super Bowl, forward LeBron James called it "disgusting" that the team would have to miss at least part of the game, with the charter service the team utilizes lacking wi-fi or satellite television. Instead, the team stayed to the finish, watching it in its entirety north of the border.

For James, it was a multi-sport visit to Toronto, where he attended a hockey game for the first time, catching part of Saturday's Boston Bruins-Maple Leafs game with teammates at the Air Canada Centre, and then visiting a local sports bar and hoisting the Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League championship trophy, alongside members of the Toronto Argonauts.

Waiting on Bosh

A day after earning the right to coach the Eastern Conference All-Star team, by virtue of his team's record, and therefore decide on the lineup replacement for injured guard Rajon Rondo, Spoelstra declined to tip his hand.

"Wouldn't it be so much more fun with some suspense? We have time," he said. "We'll get to that in due time."

Among the options for the Feb. 17 NBA All-Star Game in Houston is adding Heat center Chris Bosh as a starter, with even Spoelstra joking about his "position-less" approach with the Heat.

Asked if Bosh had said anything, Spoelstra said, "Not at all. I figured he'd try to bribe me [Sunday] night, but he didn't at all."